


Love on Wheels

by HappinessisJuuzou (Moongirlx)



Category: Free!
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Sports, Established Makoharu, Established Relationship, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Relationships, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, Multi, Roller Derby, Sexual Tension, eventual angst, i will change the rating accordingly, lots of reigisa, makoharu - Freeform, reigisa - Freeform, sourin, sports AU, there will be sex later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-07
Packaged: 2018-07-22 05:02:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7420975
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moongirlx/pseuds/HappinessisJuuzou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An AU where the characters of Free! are on a roller derby team led by Nagisa.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Cross posted to Wattpad.

  
  
Rei never had any intention of being roped into any of this. He had never had any desire to learn how to roller skate, instead preferred to watch Nagisa glide around, as graceful as a pixie.

But before he knew it, Nagisa had convinced him, even buying him a pair of blue skates so they could "skate together!" He'd clasped his hands under his chin and stared up at Rei with those clear magenta eyes, sparkling with excitement, and suddenly Rei was lacing up the skates and standing up with all the grace of a newborn calf.

"This is not beautiful, I look like a wildebeast," he had grumbled under his breath, but when Nagisa grabbed his hand and started skating in front of him, Rei obediently followed him, just trying to convince his feet to follow a straight path and his knees not to bend inwards like a toddlers as Nagisa pulled him along.

And now, Rei was at a copy center with Nagisa, printing out hundreds of fliers on pink paper that read "roller derby auditions!!" And Nagisa's address printed in a cute font below it, along with the date and time.

"Isn't roller derby for... Well, isn't it for girls?" Rei asked, pushing up his glasses as he watched Nagisa stuff the fliers into his messenger bag.

"It used to be! But now men form teams as well." Nagisa was almost vibrating with excitement as they walked around hanging up posters.

Rei shook his head as he followed Nagisa, hanging up the last poster. They had walked all around town today, a day that was much too warm for Rei's liking.

"C''mom Rei, let's go back to my place and practice!"

Rei sighed inwardly. He'd been practicing for weeks now and he didn't seem to be improving any. His knees still wobbled and his ankles occasionally tried to disobey him and fold inwards if he didn't completely concentrate on keeping them straight.

"You've been improving so much Rei-chan! Plus you promised you'd audition for my team~" Nagisa tilted his head back dramatically to stare up at Rei, his gaze unwavering.

"Yes, I know what I promised. I'm prepared to embarrass myself in front of strangers."

Tried as he might, he hadn't been able to think of any sort of equation that would help him be more steady on his feet, that would make him skate well and look as good doing it as Nagisa did.

He'd done hours of research on how to skate properly, on the correct posture and the exact muscles to engage in order to keep your balance, but when he attempted to employ those techniques on his own body, it all seemed useless. He ended up on his ass on the floor more times a day than he'd like to admit.

And each time he did, there was Nagisa skating circles around him, barely holding back a giggle as he extended his hand to help pull Rei into a standing position.

Rei tried very hard to ignore the way his stomach fluttered nervously whenever he accepted Nagisa's helping hand, and the way he could think of nothing but the slender fingers wrapped around his bicep as Nagisa tried to steady him so he didn't fall right back down.

Rei had _definitely_ not agreed to this whole roller derby affair just to spend more time around his precious blond friend. No, that wasn't the reason at all.

**•••**

"Oy, Haru! Look at this." The tall brunette beckoned his boyfriend over to him, pointing out a pink flier hanging in the window of the coffee shop the pair frequented.

"Roller derby? So?" Haruka was unimpressed, his cobalt eyes darting over the flier before coming back to rest their gaze on the other males amiable face.

"You should try out. I know skating is just something you enjoy...but.... You're really good."

Haruka's expression didn't change as he shook his head slightly.

"I'll try out with you," Makoto said, giving Haru a warm smile.

"I'll think about it." Haru said quietly, his face not betraying whether he was leaning towards a yes or a no.

Makoto pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of the info on the flier, just in case.

**•••**

"Ahhh, Rei-chan, I'm so nervous," Nagisa whined, hanging onto Rei's sleeve, already wearing his white skates with their pink laces. Rei was making sure everything was in order for the audition while Nagisa followed behind him, "helping" him.

"Nagisa-kun, why are _you_ nervous? You're not auditioning." Meanwhile Rei's stomach was in knots as he thought about skating sub-standardly in front of God only knows how many people.

"What if no one shows up! That would be so embarrassing." He groaned as if his world was ending.

Rei faced him and put his hands on the boys small shoulders. "I'm sure many beautiful roller skaters will show up, there will be so many fabulous candidates you'll be hard pressed to choose only thirteen!"

Nagisa smiled widely. "You're probably right, Rei-chan!" He looked at his phone. "Oh, look! It's 5:00! They should be showing up any minute!" He skated away from Rei, executing a graceful turn as Rei admired his calfs and thighs, muscles taut in concentration, golden hair flowing out around his head through the turn before laying perfectly again.

A knock at the garage door echoed through the room, and Nagisa rushed to find the clicker, pressing the button and raising the garage door.

"Welcome!" He said, skating over to the first arrivals, and giving them a dorky curtsy.

"I'm Nagisa Hazuki and this is Rei Ryugazaki!" He finally looked directly at the pair standing in front of him, and then exclaimed loudly, "and you're Mako-chan and Haru-chan!" before draping an arm over each of the boys shoulders.


	2. Auditions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nagisa holds auditions for his roller derby team.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is really slow, I'm just trying to establish the team and such. It will get better!

 

"Nagisa?!" The brunette exclaimed, his leaf green eyes glinting with recognition. "We haven't seen you in years!" He gave Nagisa a casual hug, his gaze then flickering to the raven haired male he'd arrived with. 

"Haru, you remember Nagisa, right? We went to grade school and then middle school with him, but he was a year younger than us."

Haru nodded slowly. "Yeah, I remember. Hey, Nagisa."

Nagisa beamed, his smile stretching his face, and Rei suddenly felt awkward and out of place amongst the old friends.

Nagisa seemed to have some type of radar for Rei's emotions, he always knew when his friend was uncomfortable, and this instance was no different. "Mako-chan, Haru-chan, this is my best friend Rei-chan!"

Makoto extended a strong hand and Rei took it, shaking it rather shyly. "You can just call me Makoto." He said, his voice kind. "And this is Haru."

***

The room was filling up quickly with people anxious to try out for the team. Nagisa was skating around organizing people into lines outside of the garage, a radiant smile on his face.

"Alright! We're going to start the auditions now. I'm going to demonstrate what I want you all to show me when you come up here."

He skated into the middle of the floor, throwing his hands up dramatically. "My name is Nagisa Hazuki, for anyone I haven't yet introduced myself to!"

He skated around the outskirts of the garage-turned-roller-rink, the wheels on his skates cutting across the ground quickly, his posture perfect. He looked so relaxed skating, totally in his element. Rei hoped to one day skate as well as him.

Nagisa had now picked up his pace, his hair floating off his face with the breeze caused by his speed. He executed sharp turns, and even skated backwards at one point. Rei was sure he showing off just a little.

He came back to the center, turning gracefully before stopping his motion with a gentle tap of the toe of his skate to the ground.

"Does anyone want to volunteer to go first? If not, we'll be going in the order in which I lined you up!"

He skated over to where Rei stood, leaning against the door frame of the garage. "How did I look up there, Rei-chan?"

"You looked great Nagisa. No one can top that," he said, clearing his throat nervously.

Nagisa didn't reply, his attention now on the person who'd just skated into the middle.

"My name is Makoto Tachibana." He said, before pushing off and soaring around the rink. He wasn't as graceful as Nagisa, but there was a very specific power behind the way he skated that was beautiful in its own way. He was fast, that's for sure. And he was strong, he would definitely be able to hold his own against the rough tactics that made roller derby what it was.

He completed what Nagisa had asked them to do and skated back to find his place again next to Haru.

"Good job, Mako-chan! Any other volunteers? No? Okay, we'll go in order of the line now."

Rei stopped paying attention after a while, each skater became a blur in front of his nervous eyes. One thing he definitely knew for a fact, without watching, was that all these people were more capable skaters than he was. He was going to make a fool of himself. Why had he ever promised Nagisa that he'd try out?

A clapping interrupted his train of thought. "Rei-chan! Everyone else has gone. It's all you!"

He pushed his glasses up nervously before skating into the middle. "Uh, hey everyone, I'm Rei Ryugazaki."

He began to skate, knowing he was going too slow, but he knew his form would suffer if he tried to go any faster. In this moment, his muscles were listening to him, and he was taking the turns without losing his balance.

He finished up and skated back to Nagisa, who whispered to him, "You were a part of the team before you even tried out, Rei-chan."

Rei was relieved that Nagisa became distracted and looked away after that, because he was unable to keep the look of adoration off his face.

"Alright everyone, I'm going to write a list of the names of those who made the team. All of you did pretty well, but there are only 13 spots, and there are 21 of you, so I had to be choosy. I'll be back with the list!"

And with that, Rei was left waiting outside with the crowd, a nervous energy buzzing through them.

***

 

"Do you think we made it, Haru? I'm a little nervous." Makoto chuckled. "I'm sure you made it though. You were great up there, Haru."

"Hey, Makoto!" Makoto tore his eyes away from Haru to look at the pink haired boy who'd interrupted them. 

"Kisumi? Wow, I haven't seen you in such a long time!"

"I know! Oh, hey, Haruka!"

Haru nodded at him, noticing the way his gaze clung too long to Makoto's face. He didn't have long to think about it before Nagisa emerged from the house attached to the garage, waving a sheet of paper above his head.

"Okay, if your name is on the list, please stick around so we can discuss practice times!"

Makoto watched Kisumi run off to be the first to look at the list, putting a gentle hand on Haru's back and guiding him in the same direction.

His eyes found the messy writing filling the paper, a thrill of joy flooding his body when he saw his name in the red ink.

_Nagisa Hazuki_

_Rei Ryuugazaki_

_Makoto Tachibana_

_Haruka Nanase_

_Kisumi Shigino_

_Matsuoka Gou_

_Matsuoka Rin_

_Sousuke Yamazaki_

_Nitori Aiichirou_

_Mikoshiba Momotarou  
_

_Amakata Miho_

_Sasabe Gorou_

_Mikoshiba Seijuro  
_

_Chigusa Hanamura_

 

Eight people left, some looking disappointed or downtrodden, some seeming not to care. Haru wasn't sure how he felt about making the team. He had tried out to make his boyfriend happy, and, admittedly, as an excuse to spend even more time around him. He was uncomfortable with the familiar faces he saw in the crowd, people from his past that he wasn't sure he wanted to reunite with, that he had always assumed he'd never see again.

 


End file.
